Gushes & rants about the things in our heads

The Hot One by Lauren Blakely

Ever notice that sometimes a guy will do something really stupid, like let the love of his life slip through his fingers?
Yeah. I'm that guy. But the moment I run into the woman I once loved madly, I’ve got one goal and one goal only—a second chance. The plan? Go big or go home.
Fine, at first glance, stripping naked at my ex-girlfriend's place of work might not seem like the brightest way to win her heart again. But trust me on this count—she always liked me best without any clothes on. And you've got to play to your strengths when you're fighting an uphill battle. As a lawyer, I know how to fight, and I'm prepared to fight hard for her. Because sometimes you need a second chance at first love.He's the one who got away . . . The nerve of Tyler Nichols to reappear like that at my job, showing off his rock-hard body that drove me wild far too many nights. That man with his knowing grin and mischievous eyes is nothing but a cocky jerk to saunter back into my life. Except, what if he's not . . .? I've tried like hell to forget him, but maybe I'm cursed to remember the guy I fell madly in love with eight years ago. Lord knows I’m not over him, so what's the harm in giving him a week to prove he's changed in the ways that matter?After all, how do you resist the hot one…

I’m starting to think that I’ve got a love-hate relationship with Lauren Blakely’s books. One the one hand, they’re mostly angst-free, exaggerated to the point where romantic comedy kicks in and pretty much a guaranteed easy read with a HEA. On the other hand, there are times when I find myself rolling my eyes at the overly done descriptions of uncontained lust – it’s 8 years of separation between this couple and a world of hurt, but all it takes apparently is a hot body to get it all going – and how that drove the near re-instalove that reignited between a pairing which up until a week ago, never quite gave each other more than erotic thoughts in their fantasies.

This is one of those times. In fact, I’d call ‘The Hot One’ a unbelievably batty read, which went so far past my ability to suspend disbelief that this book seemed to encapsulate what I hate about the second-chances/reunion trope. In fact, I detested everything about Tyler: the cocky arrogance and the self-absorbed behaviour that suddenly propelled him to winning a woman back that he hadn’t actively sought out for 8 years, as well as the assumption that Delaney would be a doormat to his all-conquering behaviour. Everything about him seemed desperately reactive as he lurched from grand gesture to grand gesture in a bid to convince Delaney that they would be good together again.

While I do admire Delaney’s honesty about wanting him, I couldn’t fathom how she pretty much rolled over at his impulsive drive to get her back permanently (would he have done this without the random meeting?) and then confessing her love near after a week of intensive dating. It was ever harder to swallow that Delaney seemed to take a little of the blame of their separation on herself while all Tyler did was feel a little remorseful about the past, justifying that he couldn’t undo anything now.

Not my type of read, unfortunately, mainly because it didn’t appeal to my innate sense of ‘romantic justice’ somehow, if there ever is a right word for it. So I skimmed and skipped so much and was actually thankful when it was over.